TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Bill Will Allow Students To Step Into Shoes Of The Disabled

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: December 9, 2007

Sometimes, state lawmakers, including Pasco County Sen. Mike Fasano, wrongly try to force their values on the public school system. For example, requiring U.S. flags in classrooms and trying to make students recite the Pledge of Allegiance won't make youths be more patriotic if they don't want to be, and it could have the opposite effect.

But for the next regular session of the Legislature, Fasano is showing leadership on an important education issue that, if passed and signed into law, stands to make immediate - and possibly lifelong - impressions on students fortunate enough to have healthy bodies and thriving minds.

Fasano, R-New Port Richey, has filed legislation that would designate the first two weeks of October as "Disability History and Awareness Weeks." In conjunction with this period, public school districts would be required to teach students about mental and physical disabilities, the challenges facing people with them and the history of the "disability movement."

School districts in Pasco, Hillsborough, Leon and Pinellas would be pilot counties, and the state's universities would be "encouraged" to participate. It wouldn't be another unfunded mandate, either: Each of these counties' school boards would be given $10,000 to implement the project.

There is a plethora of ways to bring disability education into schools and classrooms. History is filled with people who had disabilities, including President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had polio, and Harriet Tubman, a former slave who also battled epilepsy.

Importantly, Fasano's legislation gives school districts leeway. Educators could incorporate disability education into current lesson plans or hold assemblies, invite guest speakers and have film festivals. It would not be a burden.

The program, coupled with the special two-week period, could have a powerful impact, resulting in a more sensitive society. As any person with disabilities and their parents know, the looks, laughs and occasional taunts are painful - as painful as not knowing what the future holds.

If done correctly, the program could change attitudes, forge new friendships and lift the self-esteem of students with physical and mental challenges that many people cannot fathom. Fasano also suggests another reason to pass his bill: If students gain an understanding of these challenges, perhaps as adults they will give the disabled a chance at employment, no matter the scope. Such an opportunity is something every parent wants for every child.

In addition, obtaining a meaningful education to help maximize the abilities of the disabled can be elusive for them and their families. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act should be an important part of this proposed program. It is just as important as the Americans with Disabilities Act.

But what's good for students should be good for lawmakers, too.

Fasano has long backed programs helping the disabled and developmentally delayed. Legislators not familiar with the daily and long-term challenges facing these individuals should support this legislation and actively participate in the program. Doing so could prompt them to look elsewhere the next time they have to cut budgets or want to reduce funding.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT